Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold or any of the characters. Hey Arnold is the property of Nickelodeon and Craig Bartlett.

A Trip Through Time

Chapter 6: Grandpa

The children were currently on the bus on its way to sunset arms and they were all sitting in the back seat, as they continued with their private conversation. Andy was thankful that with the exception of an old couple and a few teenagers, the bus was mostly empty, devoid of more people that he knew and that his younger parents and godparents were better off not coming across any time soon.

As the bus continued to drive, Andy was deep in thought, wondering about his predicament.

"I sure hope G is home, I don't want them to worry but I have no idea what to do if he can't tell me…" Andy sighed as he continued to look out of the window, while everyone remained quiet and unsure.

At the very least he didn't have to worry about the kid version of his dad running into his grandparents since they were out of town right now and he really wanted to send them back before they returned. Preferably before his dad returns tonight, if not...he really didn't know how he was going to explain this one.

Suddenly, he felt someone tap his shoulder and turned around to see that it was his dad…or the kid-version of his dad with a curious look on his face.

"So come on, what did that girl mean by a tournament?..." Arnold asked, still curious about his future son.

Sure, maybe there were other pressing things he should be asking, but he wanted to know. He knew that this was a dangerous situation but if Andy really was his kid, then as long as he would let him, he wanted to know more about him if he could.

Andy, seeing no reason to hide it now that they saw him in action, sighed and glanced to Kiara who sent him a reluctant nod, since they had already seen him in action thanks to W.J.

"Well, as I guess you realized, I take karate and I am currently the regional champ around here…" Andy said, not looking them in the eye, feeling a little shy all of a sudden.

"A regional champ? Are you serious?..."Helga exclaimed in disbelief and almost looking impressed.

"Three years in a row…" Kiara said, looking proud at that fact, with Andy still rubbing the back of his head.

"I thought you said it was just for self-defense…"Arnold said with a brow raise.

"Well, yeah but I can still compete… why the weird look?...'Andy asked.

"Uh, never mind…" Arnold said, looking away.

Ever since he went overboard with the whole karate shtick, he restrained himself from the fighting form unless he absolutely had to use it, out of fear of going power crazy again.

"So Andy, since this is out, what other sports do you do?...'Helga asked, trying to be as casual as possible, not wanting her friends to discover her ulterior motives.

She wanted to discover as much about Andy as possible, in hopes of finding something that would prove that he was her son as well.

"Well, I play baseball, basketball, football and street hockey with my friends and I don't mean to brag, but I'm pretty good at it…" Andy said.

"You call THAT bragging…"Helga thought in amusement as he seemed as easy going as Arnold was.

But so far, she didn't see anything that resembled herself…expect the fact that unlike Arnold, this guy actually seems willing to actually put up a fight and not let anyone step on him…but that didn't prove much expect that Andy has a spine of his own.

How the heck can she be certain that he was her son as well as Arnold's?!

Helga and the others asked some minor questions, trying to be as vague as possible but she still didn't find anything to be certain that Andy was hers as much as he was Arnold's and it was driving her crazy!

"Please, send me a sign…any sign which means that Arnold and I end up together…'Helga internally begged during the rest of the bus ride to Sunset Arms boarding house.

At the Shortman residence

A blonde woman in her early thirties was happily typing on her computer, determined to finish her manuscript as her baby boy was napping peacefully in his playpen, giving her a chance to get some work done.

"Cecile could only stare in disbelief and felt her heart stop. She could only stare at the beautiful ring that was in the hand of her beloved Aaron, unable to believe that this was actually happening. After so many long years of longing, hoping and all but praying, her darling was offering her a beautiful ring along with a promise of a lifetime of love.

She felt tears begin to swell in her eyes as she was beginning to get choke up, but she was not going to cry…Not until she gave her answer.

"Yes…Yes…YES! I'LL MARRY YOU!...'Cecile exclaimed as she ran into his arms as kissed him.

As her beloved Aaron place the ring on her finger, she felt that she was the most blessed woman on earth and no matter what, she and her beloved would be together forever"

And done…" The blonde woman said, feeling very pleased with herself.

The rough draft of her manuscript was done, now all that was left was some minor editing but overall, she knew she had another keeper on her hands.

'Not too shabby Helga old girl…'She said with a smirk.

Yep, this woman was Helga G. Shortman, age 34, who has just finished her latest novel for her popular Cecile book series. She glanced at her watched and saw that it was only 2:00pm noon, she managed to finish much earlier than expected.

"Is it really that time already?...'She said with a chuckle.

She knew why, her husband was arriving home this evening and she was feeling very much inspired. Even to this day her beloved husband could make her feel so many amazing things, and those feelings always found a way to inspire her in her work.

"Gah…gah…wah!..."She heard gurgling and turned to see her baby Henry beginning to wake from his nap, on the verge of hungry tears.

"Oh come here sweetie…'Helga said as she grabbed him and then went to the kitchen to get his spare bottle.

"There…there…'She said softly as she fed her baby, who was calming down. Once he finished his bottle, Helga burped him and he was now much calmer.

"Ba…daha…groo…gah…"Baby Henry giggled.

"That's right Henry, daddy is coming home tonight…We better get you all ready.."Helga said as she checked her watch again.

She still had about three hours before she had to pick up her kids from Gerald and Phoebe's. She really owed them one, with her deadline being so close, she really needed to concentrate and Henry alone was a big enough task. Phoebe had been kind enough to watch over Megan while Andy played with Kiara, and once she finally managed to get Henry to take his nap, she had been working in overdrive.

Now her manuscript was pretty much done and she had other, more pressing matters to attend such, such as welcoming her husband back home from his big work trip.

"Now come on baby…'Helga said as she went to get him all dressed up.

As she got her baby ready, she thought about her husband Arnold. He had to go to San Lorenzo to deal with a case involving the Green Eyes integration to the modern world and since he was the only person aside from his parents that they trusted, he had to go. It's been about two weeks and Helga was patiently waiting for the time to fly by. She would have gone with him but Andy and Megan had school, so that left her to watch over things at home, especially since she had to work on her own novels with her boss Mr. Wright breathing down her neck, he was a good guy but when it came to publishing dates, he could either be your best friend or your worse enemy depending on what you hand in. So far, he was her friend and she was intending to keep it that way. She mostly worked from home in her own office and she met her boss when it was necessary.

Which would be next Friday when she hands in her latest piece of work to him, which she was certain he would love.

Speaking of love, her thoughts went back to her husband, not that they ever drifted from him.

"Oh Arnold..."Helga thought with a sigh.

Once he sets foot in this house, she was going to kiss him hard to make up for lost time and then the whole family was going to enjoy a nice, normal dinner together that was his favorite: mash potatoes and chicken with a nice apple pie for desert.

"There…all nice, neat and cute as a button…'Helga said as she cuddled Henry who was now wearing a cute pair of baby overalls with a duck on it. He was simply adorable!

"Bah…Gaa…Goo…"He babbled happily.

"I wonder how Andy and Megan are doing, I hope they aren't giving Geraldo too much trouble…'Helga thought as she thought about her other children.

Her Andy and Megan were her precious little angels, along with Henry. They were good kids and they really took after Arnold, though they also had quite a few traits from her as well.

For Andy, it was his tendency to get in and out of trouble, though he not because he was seeking trouble. Hardly! Her Andy was just as sweet and kind as his father was, it was just that he was a little more…bold and he was as tough as nails as she ever was. He was smart, did well in school if his spot on the honor roll was any indication (which it was!) and he was really athletic thanks to his karate lessons that she made sure he took from an early age. Helga wasn't taking any chances here, she wanted to be sure her boy would be able to defend himself if she wasn't around to do so.

For her little Megan, she was every bit as sweet as her dad was at that age, and every bit as sneaky as she was, which made Helga have to keep an eye on the both of them. She really loved them like crazy.

RING

Helga turned to her phone and smiled when she recognized the number, it was her beloved husband of over 10 years calling.

"Hello..."Helga said in a sing-song voice.

"Hello Helga, it's me..."Arnold's voice said on the other end.

"Darling, how are you?..."Helga said happily to her beloved.

"I'm fine, I had to wait a while but I'm finally able to use my phone, anyway, how's everything back home?..."Arnold said to his wife.

"Besides the sad fact that you aren't here yet and we're missing you like crazy, things are alright for the most part...Andy and Megan are with Geraldo and Phoebe and Henry woke up from his nap a while back.." Helga explained... "So, how was the trip?..."She asked.

"It went smoothly, the chief of the Green Eyes has consented to letting his people join the local schools..." Arnold explained.

"I'm not surprise, if anyone is capable of helping old world tribes, it's you..."Helga giggled.

"Well I'll be home soon, I just want to talk..."Arnold said.

"I can't wait to see you tonight, you're in for quite a treat...'Helga said happily.

"In that case, I really can't wait...Bye honey..."Arnold said.

"Bye my darling football head..."Helga giggled before hanging up.

She then glanced to check the time and sighed.

"Okay, since it's 1:30, I better go pick some stuff up for dinner…Come on Henry..."Helga said as she picked up her baby boy and went to get her purse, along with his baby bag just in case.

A mother could never be too prepared.

Later

At Sunset Arms

The bus soon arrived to the old Boarding house and the misplaced children got off the bus with their unofficial time tour guides.

"Here we are…"Andy said.

"It's good to see that the old place hasn't changed much over the years…." Arnold said as he looked at his childhood home.

He was about to go inside, only to be grabbed back by Andy.

"What are you doing?..."The future son said with his eyes narrowed.

"Um, going in?..."Arnold asked confused by his sudden behavior.

"Not yet, I got to go inside and warn G first, how do you guys think that he's going to react when he sees you guys like this?!..."Andy exclaimed, annoyance visible in his tone that the misplaced time children noticed.

"Heh….Sorry man….Didn't think about that…"Gerald shrugged in embarrassment.

"I'm going to go in and talk to G and G.G., to kind of prepare them…Kiara, you stay out here with them until I says it's alright for you guys to enter…and if you see anyone else they shouldn't see…you know what to do…" Andy said to his friend.

"Sure thing Andy…" Kiara said as she watched her best friend get inside.

Soon she was alone with both her parents and godparents as children, and she could tell that they were getting anxious.

"How the heck do me and Andy get into things like this? It's like something out of one of my science fiction novels..." Kiara thought for the millionth time, before sighing and resigning to wait outside with them.

So here she was, waiting for her best friend to come back with hopefully a solution to their major time travel dilemma.

Once inside, Andy let out a sigh of relief, glad that he managed to get some time. He had almost forgotten the many pictures around the boarding house about his dad with his parents and that alone was sure to spell a calamity. He quickly noticed a picture of his grandparents with his dad on the wall and he instinctively grabbed it to hide it.

"G! G.G.!..." Andy called as he looked around.

"In here, Short-man..." He heard his great grandpa calling from the kitchen.

He soon found his great grandfather sitting in the kitchen table.

"Hey there Shortman, what brings you by?..." Great grandpa Phil said with his wide grin.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, anyway where G.G.?..." He asked.

"She's at her yoga class, so what's the matter?..." The great grandfather asked.

Andy was about to talk, only for his elder to wave his hand to silence him.

"Wait! Wait! Don't tell me, school bully?..." He asked.

"No..." Andy said shaking his head, already hating the guessing game G has started.

"Girl trouble?..." He asked and Andy shook his head once more.

" Another wacky childhood misadventure?..." He suggested.

"Something in that nature..." Andy sighed.

"What happen? ..."Phil asked in concern.

"Uh G, remember how a few days ago, you told me about the time portal thing..." He started.

"Yep I did and the legend is true!..." He said dramatically.

"Yeah, I don't need convincing on that..." He muttered.

"What was that?..." The old man asked.

"I...today, me and Kiara went to the woods, where you said the portal was suppose to appear to check it out and well...something happened. .."The blonde boy started, feeling pretty anxious.

"Well, come on...out with it, what happened? Did you see the time portal today? It's not suppose to appear til next week?..." Phil asked in confusion.

"Not exactly...you see, the thing is..." Andy started but then sighed.

He had to stop beating around the bush at some point, it might as well be now.

Back outside

Kiara and the others were waiting patiently for Andy to come back and tell them that they can come in.

"Criminy! What's taking him so long?..." Helga muttered under her breath, her patience already gone.

"I'm sure he's explaining the situation as best as he can Helga, you must admit that it's quite a story..." Phoebe said meekly.

"Yeah...yeah...I know..." Helga said with a sigh.

"Andy will be out soon, just be patient..." Kiara said.

Helga said nothing as she continued to brood. She then glanced at Arnold who was sitting on the stoop, a worried look on his face. She felt her heart fluttering at the sight of him and her stomach churning from the stress and anxiety she has been feeling all day.

"Oh Arnold..."Helga thought in a mixture of passion and frustration.

She wanted to go back home but she also wanted to know about her future, she wanted to be certain that her dream came true and she married Arnold and became Andy ' s mother...if not...she wasn't sure what she would do...

"I have to be Andy mom, once I'm inside, I will try and search when no one is looking, I'll bet that Arnold's grandpa has to has some pictures or something of Arnold and Andy and maybe his mom too..."Helga thought with a sneaky smirk forming on her face.

"WHAT?!..." Was suddenly yelled from the inside of the boarding house.

"I think Andy told him..." Gerald commented.

"No doi..." Helga muttered.

She and the others soon heard some muffled sounds that sounded like an argument but they couldn't make out exact words. They also couldn't help but heard rampid footsteps and other noises as well.

"What's going on in there?...'Arnold asked, feeling concerned for the older version of his grandfather and his future son.

Suddenly the door openened to reveal Andy, with an even older looking version of Grandpa Phil right behind him.

"See? I told you..." Andy pointed to the group with a determined look on his face.

"HOLY TOLEDO! I SEE IT BUT I DON'T BELIEVE IT!..."The old man exclaimed in complete shock.

"Hi there grandpa..." Arnold said weakly, not sure what else he could say.

The rest of the children were silent, unsure of what to say now.

"You were right Andy...Oh man, come on, get them in the house before anyone sees them...'Phil said as he pushed the time misplaced children inside the house.

He then quickly looked around and was grateful that the street seemed to be deserted, with the exception of him and his great-grandson who was looking at him now, like he was really worried.

"You weren't kidding short-man, this sure is a doozy you got yourself into..."The old man said in an obvious tone.

Andy cringed as he and his great grandfather went back inside the boarding house, locking the door behind them. Now they were in the living room with the four little time travelers and Kiara.

This was going to be one heck of a meeting, wasn't it?

-To be continued-

Next time on A Trip Through Time

Questions and answers

REPLIES to my loyal and totally awesome reviewers:

Metalheadrailfan: It can't be helped I guess.

Call Me Nettie: They finally met grandpa and it went as well as you could expect.

Invader Johnny: He sure is.

Guest(1): Yep, he still is

Guest(2): Thank you

Guest(3): That's a good comparison

Ajay435: How's this?

Smckoy929: Yep, they are.

:) Till next time beautiful people, remember to read and review :)